FGD: The First Round…of the Draft

The scouts have argued. The press box coffee at the Saddledome has gone cold. The hockey world has worked itself into a lather with trade rumours and pick speculation.

It must be Draft Day.

Welcome to FlamesNation’s coverage of, to be blunt, one of the most exciting weekends in recent Flames history. By virtue of being not great this year, the Calgary Flames have the best draft pick since the team moved to Calgary in 1980 at 4th overall – and the highest pick the team’s had since choosing Tom Lysiak of the Medicine Hat Tigers at 2nd overall in 1973.

We’ve completed the Flames 15. Last year’s top pick, Sean Monahan, is Calgary’s best prospect right now. Odds are whoever gets selected by the Flames tonight will become the new holder of that crown. Will it be Leon Draisaitl? Sam Reinhart? Sam Bennett? Or will something surprising happen?

Follow along! The venerable Kent Wilson (@Kent_Wilson) and I (@RyanNPike) will be all over the highs, lows and squishy middles of the next seven rounds of drafting excitement.

And we’re hoping we have as many thrills as we did last year when the Flames selected Tim “Who” Harrison from Dexter Prep, a surprisingly good collegiate player this year that literally nobody but Flames scouts had ever heard of at that point.